Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right
by Signora Ted
Summary: Struggling to find peace from the troubles in her past, Detective Marnie Saunders transfers to the 12th Precinct in hope that she can just forget it. She finds her peace with certain detective until her past comes troubling again...Ryan/Oc T for language
1. Chapter 1

Eyes followed her as she attempted to creep into the precinct un-noticed; obviously failing to do so. She sighed, accepting defeat and ignored everyone who stared. _I hate being new,_ she thought as she swung open the door to the Captain's office, standing back to let a man through.

She blinked. Was that-No. It couldn't be. But when she looked back out into the room full of detectives, her suspicions were confirmed.

Richard Castle was now sitting with his feet propped up on a desk in the middle of the room, only to have them shoved back down by a tall brunette lady.

"Feet down Castle" she said without looking up, her attention locked on a letter she was reading as she sat down beside him.

Marnie couldn't help but smile at the two before turning into the office to see her new Captain writing on some papers.

"Ah," he said shoving his papers away, knocking over a stapler in the process.

"Detective Marnie Saunders I presume?" He continued, obviously unaware of the stapler that had been knocked onto the floor.

"Yes sir, that'd be correct." she replied with a smile.

She unzipped her large black handbag and took out a yellow paper folder, placing it on his desk. The Captain opened it up, a hand stroking his chin while in thought.

"That'd be my papers that you might need. Captain Phillips said he handled most of the transferrin' details?" She supplied.

"He did indeed. You'll be assigned to Detective Beckett's team. I'm sure herself and her boys will make you feel more than welcome."

Her new Captain grinned at her before leading her out into the large room.

"Beckett?" he called towards Castle and his friend. The writer seemed to have been teasing the female detective, since even the most oblivious four year old would be able to notice the rose colour that graced the woman's cheeks.

"Yes, sir?" she answered from her desk, composing herself after Castle's jesting.

She spotted Marnie and gave her a small smile before she nudged Castle in the ribs and called two other men from across the room.

"Guys, our new transfer is here."

The two men who she had called to were sitting at desks opposite hers and had been keeping their heads in their paperwork. One of them, a Hispanic, who was wearing a black hoodie with his badge slung around his neck, got up and held out his hand to Marnie.

"Javier Esposito," he said with a cheeky grin as she shook his hand; flinching from his firm grip on her petite hand.

"And this is my partner," he motioned towards the other man who had his thoughts still deep in concentration in his paper work.

Esposito kicked the leg of his chair causing the other, slightly younger looking detective to shoot back into reality.

"Huh? Oh!" he exclaimed, fumbling his way out of his chair, his jacket pocket somehow getting caught on the armrest of his chair, resulting in him falling over in the process.

Nevertheless, he got back up, straightened his purple striped tie and held out his hand.

"Kevin Ryan," he said, a big goofy smile spread across his face.

Esposito just rolled his eyes, letting out a dramatic sigh in response to his friend's embarrassing behaviour.

"It's nice to meet yea." Marnie said in her thick, heavy Irish accent.

Ryan's face lit up.

"You're Irish, I-" but he was cut off as Esposito moved him back into his seat by his shoulder, leaving Ryan with a childish pout on his face.

"Sit down before you hurt yourself bro."

She smiled, her eyebrows raised at the pair's behaviour as Castle and Beckett came to greet her. Montgomery had left them to go make a call, obviously deciding she was in good enough hands.

"Kate Beckett," the older woman said, gripping Marnie's hand in her own. She was a stunning woman, Marnie observed as she nodded and turned to the writer next to her.

"Richard Castle but you know, you can call me Rick."

The author winked at the young detective as Beckett sighed and towed him back to the desk. She motioned Marnie to follow and pulled up another chair between herself and Castle.

"Right," Beckett began as Marnie seated herself between them, shifting awkwardly as she did usually around new people.

"This is our team. I'm sure you're aware that Castle shadows me for inspiration but seriously, he's only here for the thrill now. So don't be afraid to whack him over the head or to temporally maim him."

A smirk was tossed in his direction from the head detective before the man in question pointed his thumbs at himself defensively.

"Excuse me Beckett, but I _am_ right here"

Beckett turned and looked right at him, her eyes burning a hole in his forehead.

"Trust me Castle, I know."

Turning back to Marnie and letting out a frustrating sigh, Beckett decided to continue.

"Anyway, to be honest, if you want to get to know the place better, stick with Ryan and Esposito. I'm sure Ryan would be more than willing because he was the newest here before you. There's a desk over there beside him so you can get started as soon as possible,"

Castle put his hands up in the air to emphasis the sarcastic 'Yay!' that they could all hear in their heads. However Beckett was the one exception as par usual.

"Sarcastic gestures are not allowed this early in the morning Castle." She groaned, moving her right hand to her forehead, trying to massage the stress away. Marnie pursed her lips together in an attempt to refrain from laughing at the stubborn, obviously madly in love pair and brought her stuff over to her new desk beside Detective Ryan.

"You've got bets on them, right?" she said quietly, leaning over to Ryan and earning a snicker from him.

"Their love is that obvious, isn't?" he drawled sarcastically. "Javi thinks they'll be together by the end of the year. I say by Christmas."

Esposito, upon hearing his name mentioned, drifted over to the front of Ryan's desk, leaning against it.

"Come on dude, even Castle wouldn't be able to trap the dragon that is Beckett _that_ fast."

Turning his head to Marnie, the Hispanic sent her a suggestive smirk, wiggling his eyebrows ever so slightly.

"So Saunders," he began, standing up again and making his way around the desks so he was hovering behind the raven haired detective's shoulder.

"You ever need someone, yea know, to show you around and what not? I'm sure the guys would all say I'm the man for it."

He winked at her, continuing the one sided smirk. Said one sided smirk soon became a non-existent smirk when Ryan raised both eyebrows and looked at his partner scoldingly.

"Okay fine bro! See yea already claimed this one. Next time maybe, Saunders,"

And with a quick salute to his friend, Marnie watched as Esposito strode down the hallway towards the morgue.

"Just ignore him when he flirts, he doesn't mean anything by it," a voice beside Marnie said casually.

She turned to see Ryan again and only then fully took his appearance in. While Esposito was genetically darker haired, eyed and skinned, Ryan was almost a polar opposite. His skin was the pale that Marnie was so used to seeing, the kind of pale that burned, not tanned. Then he had the light sandy hair styled back off his face, showing off his bright blue eyes.

_Yes,_ Marnie thought before replying. _Defiantly an Irish man._

"You know from experience, Detective Ryan?"

Ryan snorted at her comment, slipping the pen he had been writing with behind his ear to ensure it wouldn't be lost beneath his paper work while he picked up his coffee mug for a sip.

"Keep that kind of attitude and you'll survive up around here."

She smiled and nodded as he returned his mug to the table and continued writing numbers into a folder.

"Uh, yea can surf through those phone records from Mr Tory's landline there. Just look over the murder board against the wall there. Should fill you in on the case."

He hadn't even looked up from his work as he spoke to her, seemingly absorbed in the numbers. Marnie didn't mind. She didn't want any attention that wasn't necessary. And so, beginning her first task in the 12th Precinct, she began sifting through the pages, content with the moment of peace she finally had.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Mistakes are all mine and so is Marnie but Castle, Beckett, Esposito, Ryan and Lanie are all belonging to ABC. Sadly.

Her two months at the 12th precinct were slow with no major cases popping up but she used that time to get to know the place and the people. She learnt that Ryan was in fact Irish and he was engaged to a girl called Jenny; that Beckett and Castle had a love-hate relationship and that they both nearly died together twice. Once in a giant freezer and the other time in front of a dirty bomb. She also learnt that Castle owned The Old Haunt, which was a new favourite of Marnie's seeing as Castle insisted his friends ate and drank there free of charge. She learnt of how Ryan and Esposito were kidnapped and Ryan was tortured and also how Ryan was asked to become a stripper at one stage during a case.  
>She had choked on her beer when Esposito told that story one night at The Old Haunt, making Ryan go red in the face from humiliation while everyone else was red from laughter and in Marnie's case, lack of air.<p>

"Did Beckett tell you about the time she had another shadow, Saunders?  
>Eh? That time when there was two Becketts?"<p>

"Awh Kev, no need for that bro!" Esposito said, slinging his right arm around Ryan's shoulders and his other around Lanie's.

"Beckett numero deux freaked us all out. No need to re-live it."

"I didn't need to re-live being asked to be a stripper either."

"It was a funny story though dude!"

Marnie rolled her eyes and leaned out of her squished position between Lanie and Beckett to grab a salted peanut and flick it at Esposito. What she didn't expect was that Esposito lifted his arm from Ryan's shoulders and caught the peanut mid-flight and popped it into his mouth.

"That was skill bro," Ryan laughed, taking a swig of his beer.

"Where's Cas-"

"Food!"

Ryan's question was answer by Castle arriving at the booth with two trays balanced on his arms, one with baskets of chips and the other with 3 pizzas, all barely fitting on the tray.

"Wow Castle," Beckett began as she lifted her basket of chips off the tray which was now on the table. Castle was getting comfortable with his basket and a slice of pizza beside Beckett when he responded.

"Wow what?"

"Wow, you actually got up and got the food yourself!"

The booth exploded with laughter as everyone dug into their food, all thanking Castle for the lack of bill.

"So Marnie," Lanie began. "You know all about us now. But we hardly know you. Go on. Tell us  
>your life story!"<p>

Marnie couldn't help but smile at Lanie. But as she began to tell everyone about herself, she started fidgeting with the ends of her ringleted black hair.

"Uh, well. I was born in Wexford-"

"God I love the strawberries from there!"

"Shut up Kev,"

Marnie laughed at the two boys before continuing.

"Yeah, I was born in Wexford which is in the south-east of Ireland but I moved to New York a few years ago for family reasons. Back home the police force don't use guns so it was real weird coming here seeing everyone with guns. But yeah. Anyway. No boyfriend, no family that I speak to. Just me, my dog Zack and my goldfish Priscilla."

As she finished her speech they all burst into laughter.

"What?" she asked.

"I really hope you're not sensitive Marnie," Castle spluttered. "'Cos you're going to get an awful lot of teasing about your goldfish!"

"You're so mean Castle," Marnie mumbled as they all continued laughing.

There was a bleep from a phone and Ryan dug into his pocket.

"Oh, hey guys," he said after scanning over his text. "I gotta go. Jenny wants me back home. Somethin' important's going down apparently."

He got up with his jacket in his hand, slipping his phone back into his pocket. They all said they're goodbyes, Esposito said good luck as if the something bad had to do with Ryan.

"I might head off too guys," Marnie said, standing up at the table, throwing the last of her beer down her throat.

"See you Monday then," Beckett said giving her a small wave.

When Marnie got out of the bar, she looked around for taxi. There was one after pulling up near her and she made a run towards it but before she could open the car door, Ryan stepped forward from behind her.

"Share a cab?" he offered with his goofy smile.

"Sure!"

Marnie climbed in first and scooted over to make room for Ryan. She told her address to the driver and turned to Ryan.

"Handy," he said. "I live on the same road. So...Tell me about living in Ireland?`"

A/N: So I decided to update today 'cos...Well. I was bored. Anyway thanks to Sweet Pea for the review and cheers for the alerts.


	3. Chapter 3

The conversation between Ryan and Marnie that night in the cab was mainly on the topic of Ireland. Ryan told stories of his family holidays there as child after moving to the States when he was very  
>young. Marnie told stories of general gossip about Ireland, which Ryan extremely enjoyed listening to.<p>

"Before I left two years ago, Jedward were all the news and gossip."

"Jedward?"

"Dublin twins, John and Edward. They came like, 4th in the British X-Factor and now they're worshiped. Complete nut-jobs."

Ryan laughed as she went on to talk about the Irish government and the politicians.

"They're complete idiots! All of them! It's a wonder Ireland still exists with the way everything's going!"

As she aimlessly rambled on, Ryan found himself staring at her pale face, her bright blue eyes catching his attention.

"Kevin?" she said, waving her hand in front of his face to snap him out of his brain nap.

"Huh?"

"We're at my place. I gotta go, okay?"

He bounced back into the present and smiled.

"Oh-Oh yeah. Okay. See yea Marnie."

She handed the cab driver her fare and squeezed Ryan's shoulder before getting out of the car.

"Night!" she chirped as she slammed the door shut.

What's wrong with me? Ryan thought as they approached his apartment. Weird...

"Hello?" Marnie mumbled into her phone, her voice clouded in grogginess from sleep.

"Sorry to wake you so early Saunders but we've got a body."

"Right, I'll be there in a bit. Where's there exactly?"

Marnie turned on her bed-side lamp and scribbled the address Beckett called out on a piece of paper.  
>She recognised the address but couldn't place it and spent her 2 minute long shower wreaking her head trying to remember.<p>

"I knew I've been here before!" she exclaimed as she walked over to Beckett and Castle.

"Saw My Chemical Romance here a while back."

Castle raised an eyebrow while Beckett had her attention on Esposito who was walking up to them.

"What?" Marnie replied to Castle's eyebrow. "I'm a rock fan."

"So was our vic," Esposito said handing Beckett papers.

"It's female, that's about all we've got seeing as the body was set alight inside the arena. Cleaners found her dumped on top of the sinks in the ladies room at about half two. They were cleaning up after The Pretty Reckless gig that ended about half twelve. Fans didn't completely leave until 2 so that's when cleaning started."

"I love that band!" Marnie exploded, her face lighting up with her hands in the air. "Somebody must've taken Light Me Up too literally."

Everybody turned to the newest addition to their team.

"It's one of The Pretty Reckless's songs and the name of their album." she replied matter-of-factly.

"Anyone seen Ryan?" Beckett asked, completely ignoring Marnie's band facts.

"Didn't you call him?" Esposito asked as they all started walking into the concert arena, towards to bathrooms.

"Yeah but he should be here by now," Beckett replied, frowning. "He sounded weird on the phone."

"Most people do at 3 in the morning Becks"

"Shut up Castle. I mean he didn't even sound like he had been sleeping..."

"Hey guys. Sorry I was late."

We swivelled around to see Ryan standing, running his hand through usually neat hair. He was a mess. His hair wasn't neat but was dishevelled and bits were sticking everywhere. His tie lay limp around his neck, loose and his eyes looked tired and red. His suit jacket lay dead on his shoulders and he obviously didn't shave the tiny bit of morning stubble that was left on his chin.  
>Esposito, Beckett, Castle and Marnie all exchanged looks.<br>'Either a bad hangover or something bad happened with Jenny' Esposito's eyes told them.  
>The group could have whole conversations silently with only their eyes and facial expressions.<br>'I thinking Jenny' Beckett's face replied.

"You okay?" Marnie asked, not knowing what was going on as she untrained in the art of facial conversations.

"Wha- Me?" Ryan stuttered, pointing his thumb at himself. "Su-sure! I'm just fantastic. What've we got Esposito?"

Esposito threw a glance at Beckett and Castle. 'I'll talk to him.'  
>They watched Esposito and Ryan walk back towards the information desk to find witnesses and the sort.<p>

"You know what's up with Ryan, Saunders?" Beckett asked Marnie as she pushed open the door to the bathroom.

"Wow!" Castle exclaimed. "This is a ladies bathroom Beckett!"

His partner just shrugged.

"Your point being? This is a crime scene Castle. I'm sure we can allow you to enter our domain for a few minutes."

Beckett smirked as she went through the doorway and stood in front of the sinks.

"God," Castle said when he got a peek at the body. "Nearly as bad as the pizza oven case."

"Pizza oven?" Marnie said, shocked.

Beckett glared at them both so Castle mouthed back to Marnie behind his hand 'I'll tell you the story later!'

"Guys concentrate. We'll talk about Ryan and the pizza oven later."

"She hasn't had her morning coffee," Castle whispered to Marnie, making a smile across her face.

"Castle!"

"Coming darling!"

The trio stepped across the floor to where the body was.  
>The flesh on the body was burnt to crisp, only strips of clothing left on the body. The white marble of the sinks was spotted with bits of black from the body leaving the marble dirty.<p>

"What's the verdict Lanie?" Beckett asked the ME who was inspecting the body.

"Well, the body was probably sock in petrol before set on fire, whether or not that's correct, we'll have to wait until we get it to my table. Besides severe burning of the flesh, it seems there was a  
>stab wound or something in the gut but again, I'll need it back on my table to be certain. I'd say the time of death would roughly be around 11 to 1"<p>

"Thanks Lanie."

Marnie had been snooping around the toilet stalls when her phone rang out.

"Yo," she heard from the other end of the line. "Tell Beckett to get back here. The band stayed at the arena until well after half 1 so we've asked them to drop by for some questions-" But Esposito was cut off when Marnie exclaimed "We're going to be interrogating Taylor Momsen? Best, case, ever!"

Castle and Beckett turned to stare at Marnie in confusion until she hung up.

"Esposito needs us back in. The band was still there during our time frame for time of death so the band came in to be questioned."

Marnie's face hurt from smiling.

"You don't like that band at all, do you?" Beckett said sarcastically as they left the crime scene.

"We'll meet back at the precinct. Castle, you coming with me or our new fountain of irrelevant facts?"

"Don'tworry Becks, I'm coming with you." he said grinning at her.

"Don't call me Becks."

"Okay Becks."

"Castle!"

"Yes Becks?" 

A/N: Okay guys, please review? Pretty please? :P I really want to know f I've got them all in character...Let's try get the reviews to 5? What you think? Oh and thanks Jelly53779 for the review


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry I took so long guys. Just back in school and I've supervised study 'til 7 so...Yeah. Please review guys

When Marnie arrived at the precinct, Beckett and Castle had yet to arrive. The young detective hopped into the lift, to find Esposito beside her.

"Why are you in the lift?" she asked, confused.

"Needed to get away from Ryan. His depression is driving me mad. I've never seen him like this before."

"So you took a ride in the lift to get a break from him?"

"Pretty much."

Marnie thought on Ryan's odd behaviour as the lift came to a stop.

"What happened Javier?"

Esposito frowned and stepped out of the lift.

"I'll tell you all afterwards. It's uh, Jenny related."

Marnie's heart sank. Jenny had left Ryan. How anyone could leave _Ryan_ was beyond her. He was everything a girl would want. His humour, his looks, his generosity and not to mention his cuteness and the fact that he was such a gentleman. His heart was broken and Marnie knew it would take some TLC to help it recover.

"Oh, hey Saunders," Marnie heard said 'heart-broken gentleman' say which caused her to jump out of her concentrated thoughts.

He still looked awful.

"Hey Ryan. What's the plan of action?" she smiled, trying to stay positive.

"Gonna wait 'till Beckett and Castle are here. They're going to interrogate the band. Lanie still hasn't got an I.D yet so we haven't much to work from. I think the rest of us will be going home for sleep  
>until then.." he dragged off, staring into the distance with his hands in his pockets and his jacket had been removed.<p>

Himself and Marnie walked together into the break room for coffee, where they were alone, with nobody eaves dropping.

"Okay Kevin," Marnie said strictly, placing her coffee on the little table. "What happened? You don't look good and the team's worrying about you. You're the best friend I've got here so I want you to be honest with me. You can tell me. I'm a good listener."

He gulped, knowing that she wouldn't back down until she got it out of him.

"It really doesn't matter," he tried, regardless of the fact he knew she wouldn't accept that.

"Don't give me that bullshit Kev. I know something happened with Jenny and I want you to trust me enough to tell me. Please. You don't have to suffer alone. It's not good for you Kevin."

He stared at his friend, unsure of how to react.

"Jenny left me," he mumbled, obviously making a choice. "She said she wasn't committed enough for marriage and that she only said yes because she found it hard to say no to me. She pitied me."

He looked down at the floor as a stray tear made its way down his cheek. Marnie couldn't stand to see him like that. It was wrong for someone so lovely to be in this kind of state.  
>She stepped over the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a comforting hug.<p>

"Thank you for telling me," she whispered into his ear. "You'll be okay. Me and Javier will look after you."

She added the last part with a smile, releasing her friend from the hug.

"Cheers Marnie," Ryan said, a nice smile spreading across his face. He rubbed the lone tear away with the bottom of his hand and picked up his coffee that he had left in the machine. Marnie let out a relieved sigh and picked up her own drink before leaving the break room, Ryan  
>still inside.<p>

"That looked like a very heart to heart conversation you just had," Beckett smirked, approaching Marnie with her own coffee and bear claw.

"Jenny?" the head detective questioned, sitting down at her desk.

"Yeah," Marnie replied, sitting at her own desk opposite Beckett.

"It's a very touchy subject. Leave him be for a while. Me and Javi will make sure he keeps his head on straight."

Beckett smiled at Marnie slyly as Ryan dragged himself back over to his desk, completely un-aware that he was the topic of discussion.

"Beckett, the band is waiting for you and Cast- Where's Castle?" Ryan thought out loud, looking around the room.

"He went home for rest," Beckett said while picking up papers and getting out of her chair.

"Me and Esposito will question them while you and Saunders go home for sleep. Honestly Ryan, you look awful."

"Thanks for that Beckett," he replied sarcastically, getting up and lifting his jacket from the back of his chair.  
>He swung it around his shoulders and ran a hand threw his hair, trying to tidy it up a bit.<p>

"Don't even try Ryan," Marnie said picking up her own stuff from her desk.

"What?" he asked, puzzled.

"Your hair. Don't even try to make yourself look better. Just go home and sleep, okay?"

His mouth formed in the shape of an 'o' and his eyebrows knitted together.

"What?" Marnie demanded, throwing her empty hand in the air. "You look terrible! Just go home!"

Ryan pouted and frowned, letting out a dramatic sigh.

"Love you too Saunders."

And with that he made his way towards Montgomery's office. Beckett let out a laugh and covered her mouth with her hand as Marnie stood, watching Ryan disappear into the captain's office.

"You and Kevin are a funny pair, Saunders. I swear, I've never seen him pout like that before."

Marnie rolled her eyes. She hadn't intended to be funny. She was tired and dead serious.

"Where's he gone anyway?" she asked, grabbing her keys from her desk.

"Gone to ask the captain if he could bunk on the couch tonight. You know with the whole Jenny thing..."

"I got it," Marnie stated bluntly, holding her hand that was clutching her keys up to signal Beckett not to continue. She felt bad all of a sudden. She had told Ryan to go home. Which he can't do.

"I'm leaving for the night," she sighed, eventually turning to leave."See yea in the mornin' Becks."

She waved over her shoulder at Beckett who merely nodded in response. As she shuffled down the hallway with folders and papers in on hand and her keys in the other, she used the back of her less occupied hand to wipe the sleep from her eyes.

"Hey Saunders!" Marnie heard a Ryan call from behind her as she pushed the elevator button.

"Yeah?" she replied turning around to him.

He had his adorable worried face on, the one where both his eyebrows raised up in the centre of his forehead.

"Eh, well Lanie is staying with Javi tonight and Jenny can't move out until tomorrow. So I was wondering if I could bunk on your couch for the night. The couch here is being used and I would ask Beckett or Castle but Beckett's with Josh and it would be weird at Castle's. Besides, you're one of my best friends now and I'd feel more comfortable-"

"Kevin! Shut up for a minute!" Marnie interrupted, a smile on her face.

Everything was just spilling from his mouth. In a different situation, it would be funny.

"I don't mind. It's okay."

A relieved sigh over-took Ryan as he took some of Marnie's papers from her hand.

"But you're telling me why it would be weird at Castle's on the way, deal?"

"..."

"Kevin?"

"Okay, fine. Deal."


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Thankin'you for the reviews guys **_

"Ha ha ha ha ha-"

"Shut up"

Marnie just could not contain her laughter of mockery.

"Wait, so let me get this straight," she said, waving her hands and wine glass in the air. "Alexis Castle has a crush on you?"

Ryan almost growled from his position on Marnie's twin couch. He threw back the last of his wine and sighed.

"Yes, okay? Do you see why it would be weird?"

"Very much so."

"What happened to you having a dog anyway?"

"In the vet's at the moment, did something to his paw the other day.."

He pouted, obviously disappointed from not meeting her dog. When he saw her lose interest in their endless banter, he changed the subject.

"So, why'd you transfer here? I mean, we all have our reasons for transferring"

Marnie made a face. She didn't want to talk about it but he told her about Jenny. She told him to trust her. Maybe she should trust him? It would be better for somebody to know anyway, right?

"There was an incident with my mother a while back.." she mumbled. Ryan raised and eyebrow and leaned forward.

"You don't have to tell me Marnie. I was just curious."

She thought on it for a minute. No, she thought. I'll tell him.

"Nah, it's okay. You'd probably find out anyway, My mother…she, well. She got a bit out of hand. Mentally, I mean. What happened was sort of like the 'I Don't Like Mondays' case. You know the one that Bob Geldof wrote a song about?"

Ryan obviously wasn't following her. He frowned in confusion and worry, perhaps?

"She was staying in a hotel for a weekend. It was supposed to be a break from everything so she could relax for while. But she got in a bad mood and thought setting the place on fire would be a good idea. It also happened to be the night of an engagement party of one of the detectives in my precinct.  
>I couldn't go that night but….everyone who <em>was<em> there were either severely burned or killed. I felt ashamed to show my face there after. Everyone there blamed me for the loss of their friends because the murderer was my mother. And that, my friend, is why I transferred."

Ryan sat in shock. He had heard of Mental Maddie, the women who had skillfully set fire to a hotel and escaped, only to go on a shotgun shooting spree later, killing quite a lot of people. He never would have thought Marnie was her daughter.  
>Tears had started streaming down her cheeks.<p>

"Marnie, you didn't have to tell me if it was that upsetting."

She looked at him and sniffed.

"I wanted to tell you. You told me about Jenny-"

"That wasn't as big of a deal"

She stared at him straight in the eye until he looked away awkwardly.

"Kevin, I wanted to tell you. I haven't spoken about it in a while and I would've preferred for you to find out about it from me."

She got up and took both of their wine glasses into her small kitchen to wash them up.

"I might hit the bunk," she mumbled, coming out and pulling her hair into a ponytail.

"Ye-eah," Kevin said, yawning as he stretched his legs out.

He began patting down the cushions by the arm of the sofa when a duvet got flung at his head from the other side of the room.

"Thanks," he snickered, lifting the duvet off his head.

"No problem!" came the yell from the other room.

He grinned to himself as he took off his sweater, opened the first few buttons of his shirt and lay down on the couch. He sighed and lifted the duvet on top of him, settling against the cushions. His day had been a bad one, but there were many more to come.

_**A/N: Sorry for the shortness…But it was an important chapter. Drop a review if you're reading **_


	6. Chapter 6

Marnie woke that morning to the smell of bacon. Bacon and toast. She was up and out of bed in seconds, only stopping to grab her dressing gown and wrap it around her.

"Kev…." She mumbled as she dragged herself into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

She moved her hands away to see a full Irish breakfast on the table, with Ryan sitting down at it, reading the newspaper. He looked happier, Marnie noted as she took a seat at the table. She eyed him suspiciously.

"What do you want?" she questioned, taking a look at the food.

He looked up from his newspaper and folded it, putting it behind him on the window sill.

"Can't I make a nice breakfast for the nice person who sheltered me for the night?"

Marnie raised an eyebrow and let out a laugh as she poured herself out some orange juice.

"Whatever you say, Detective."

Ryan dished himself up a plate of bacon, eggs, sausages and pudding and squirted tomato ketchup over it with a huge grin on his face. He looked like a child with a giant lollipop.

"You like a fry up then?" Marnie asked as she bit into a slice of toast. It was only now that she realized how hungry she was.

He nodded, his mouth too full of sausage to answer. He washed it down with a gulp of coffee and he sighed.

"Really, thank you Marnie. It means a lot." He gave her a small smile and continued on with his food.

Things can only get better, she told herself as she dug into her own food.

"We've got an ID for our vic," Esposito said, strolling over to the rest of the group.

Castle's head popped up and Beckett let out a relieved sigh.

"What've we got?" she asked, standing up from her desk.

"Em," Esposito mumbled as he looked at the papers in his hands. He squinted at the page in front of him and made a face as he tried to pronounce the name. "Caoimhe Tyne"

"What?" Marnie exclaimed from her desk, jumping up and taking through papers from Esposito.

"No," she whispered, covering her mouth with her hands as she dropped the papers into her lap after she fell back down into the chair. "No," she repeated, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"Oh my god," she heard Castle try to say quietly while Beckett and Ryan were at her side in a moment.

"You knew her," Beckett stated as she rubbed a still in shock Marnie on the shoulder.

Silent tears had begun to stream down her cheeks. Ryan knelt down in front of her and took her hands from her mouth, holding them in his own.

"She was- she was one if my best friends. As good of friend as Ryan and- and Esposito are. I didn't even- even realise it was her 'til- 'til-"

Her crying became audible now as she leaned out if her seat into Ryan's arms, who then lifted her to her feet with her still in a tight embrace.

"Ryan, me and Castle are going to inform Montgomery of Marnie's link to this case," Beckett said quietly, knowing Marnie wouldn't hear through her tears.

"Look after her until we get back. Esposito?"

She beckoned for the other detective to follow her so she could speak to him quietly.

"Get background info on our vic. Try do it without letting Marnie know. There's no way she can work this case."

Esposito nodded and walked off back to his desk beside Ryan's. Beckett sighed and walked up to Castle, who was waiting outside Montgomery's office. This was going to be a tough one. 

Esposito knew that if this was a different situation, he would've been smiling at Ryan and Saunders. They had moved from their spot near Marnie's desk and were now on one of the sofas that family and relatives usually sat on. Marnie had her legs curled up to her stomach and her head buried in Ryan's shoulder, still crying, however now it was more so sniffing. He had his arm wrapped around her, holding her close to his shoulder and the crook of his neck. They made a good pair, Esposito though as he watched them out of the corner of his eye. He just wished the situation was different.

Ryan decided it would've been best if Marnie wasn't in the precinct at the current moment and so, he brought her back home to her apartment.

"I should've known it was her," she mumbled as Ryan brought her through her apartment door. "She told me she was going to a gig but I was too busy to remember it. I don't- I don't know why someone would ki-kill her."

Ryan brought her into the area where he had slept the previous night and pulled her into a hug again.

"We'll find them, Marn. You know well enough that we're New York's finest."

Marnie quietly laughed into his shoulder and closed her eyes. She liked his embrace.  
>She heard the television being turned on as she closed her eyes against the detective. Blocking out the sound of the television and the annoying yapping dog ad, she tried to calm herself down.<p>

Why someone would want to kill Caoimhe was something Marnie couldn't understand. Caoimhe had been the friend who moved to America _with _her. She had been through everything with her. The fact that she was dead wouldn't settle with Marnie. Caoimhe wasn't a goody-two-shoes. She had done her odd skipping of school when she was younger and had experimented with drink like any other teenager.  
>But that was <em>years <em>ago, while they were still in secondary school. Caoimhe hadn't done anything rebellious since then. There was no way she could've been involved with something bad without Marnie knowing. They told each other absolutely everything, suffered each other's smart remarks and held each other's hands after a break up.  
>The young detective felt like she'd just lost family.<p>

_**A/N: Okay, yes I know. It's been a while. But I've just had big exams so….Anyway, reviews please and the next one will be up reeeeal soon.  
>For me at least..<br>PEACE OUT FOO! **_


	7. Chapter 7

She woke up in Ryan's arms on her sofa, the TV quietly droning on. _It must've been left on all night, _she thought. She didn't want to move. Ryan had propped his legs up on the scarlet, square cushion foot rest that was between the small TV and the black leather sofa and had his left arm wrapped around Marnie's waist as she had her face nestled in the crook of his shoulder, the smell of his cologne off his collar hitting her. She was practically lying across him with her own left arm sprawled across his chest as it slowly rose and fell. But he was fast asleep; his head leaning on the top of hers.  
>She stayed where she was for fifteen minutes, cherishing the comfort she found in his arms. However eventually, Ryan stirred.<p>

"Y'okay?" he mumbled sitting up, which caused Marnie to also sit up properly. Her black hair fell into her face as she groaned and let her head fall into his lap. He chuckled and tapped her head softly.

The sun had entered the room from the two windows by the door of Marnie's bedroom, lighting up the connected sitting room and kitchen. Kevin took the opportunity to observe her home.  
>The plush, cream coloured carpet had several drops of red stains by the counter where the kitchen began in the room. It could've been wine or blood, however Ryan assumed it was the first. The kitchen was the furthest from her room and everything could be seen from where Ryan was seated.<br>The work counters were all black marble and the tiled floor was so clean, the white almost sparkled.  
>Besides the normal, there wasn't much else belonging to Marnie left around. A stack of DVDs and CDs were all that Ryan could see beside the TV that told him anything about her.<em> Maybe that was just the way she was<em>, he told himself. He decided that he would have to take her to see a musical some time after he saw numerous musical DVDs including; Grease, The Phantom of the Opera and all the Disney classics. He was a fan of musicals himself. _Wait until she hears that,_ he thought, making himself smile.

"C'mon Marnie, we should get up."

He shook her by the shoulder but got a muffled reply, as her face was in his lap.

"Heerm aney"

"Sorry?"

Marnie shot back up into sitting position to see a very smug looking Ryan grinning at her.

"I said go away. However, seeing as you've been very kind and a very comfortable pillow, I shall allow you to buy me a coffee and a croissant on our way to the precinct. "

Ryan's smile faded as his worried face appeared again and he shifted uncomfortably. Marnie frowned and crossed her arms.

"Don't you dare say that I shouldn't be on this case."

She looked him in the eye and narrowed her gaze.

"Hey, I'm not saying that," he began defending himself, taking her right hand in his own. "I'm just saying Beckett won't think it's right. Neither will Montgomery. And hell, Castle will probably lock you in your apartment."

Marnie listened and took it all in. It was true, what Ryan was saying. Right now she was fine. She could keep herself composed and act as if it was just another murder. But she could break down like she had last night at any time and Ryan might not be there when it happens. Her mind was being stubborn and was telling her to stay on the case but her heart was telling her to back down and give herself time to mourn. So she made a choice.

"Fine. I'll come with you to the precinct to pick up some papers to do at home. I don't trust myself at the moment."

He smiled and gave her hand a squeeze before standing up and tried to fix his wrinkled clothes. Marnie tossed him his navy tie which he had slipped off last night after she had fallen asleep and he tied it around his neck over his blue shirt.

"Thank you, Kevin." She said as she handed him his suit jacket. He slipped on the jacket and pulled her into a hug; his right arm at the small of her back and his left near her shoulder.

"Don't you worry, Saunders. We'll catch this son-of-a-bitch."

With a cardboard cup of coffee and a pastry in their hands, Marnie and Ryan walked into the precinct rather closely as Marnie felt a little bit nervous about talking about the case with her other detectives. When they arrived at their tables, Marnie collapsed into her chair and smacked her coffee down onto the table with so much force that a bit splashed out of the hole in the black plastic lid and it also made Castle jump out of his skin as he sat in his own chair by Beckett; both of whom were in deep concentration on some footage.

"Saunders," Beckett began, lifting her head up from her computer. "You should be at home. Ryan?" She looked at him with a raised eyebrow but he merely replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I came in to collect some paper work, Beckett. I'm going home, don't worry."

Beckett frowned and stood from chair. Marnie admired Beckett greatly. She had so much command over the male detectives and could kick ass wearing heels, something Marnie would never even attempt. She was also very caring when she opened up, however rare that was.

"I'm sorry, Marnie" she said when she came behind Marnie's chair and placed a gentle hand on her back. "Go home and we'll find your friend's killer. I promise."

Marnie looked back up at the older woman and smiled in gratitude. Finally sighing with defeat, she picked up the papers on her table, tossed her pastry over to Castle; who then looked like a child on Christmas, and picked up her coffee before kicking her chair back slightly and nodding to Beckett.

Ryan had gone, probably to find Esposito for a sum up of the situation, so Marnie told Beckett to say her goodbyes to Ryan and she headed off to the elevator.  
><em>Ryan,<em> she thought as the doors of the elevator closed. _He was so sweet and kind. Even though he had his own troubles. Note to self; bake him a big cake._

Marnie smiled to herself as she planned her cake surprise for Ryan on the way to her apartment until she unlocked her door to see a piece of paper on the floor. Frowning, she dropped her keys, papers and empty coffee cup onto the table beside the door and picked it up.  
>It was just a plain sheet of white paper, but what was written on it rendered Marnie speechless. After 10 minutes of reading it over, she took out her phone and dialed a number.<p>

"Marnie? What is it?"

"Kevin?" she whispered through tears that were now falling down her cheeks. "It's my fault. Caoimhe was killed because of me."

_**A/N: Just saw the finale of Castle today and wow…. Made me wanna write. Ryan was all worrisome and what not. By the way, I've been trying to improve my writing by describing more.. Is it working? Anyway, please review **_


	8. Chapter 8

Beckett sat on Marnie's sofa with the paper in her right hand, her left massaging her temple as she read. Marnie, not being fantastically happy with the whole situation, took it upon herself to make the older detective coffee and fix Castle up with some biscuits.

"We can't be exactly sure who left this, Saunders" Beckett said as she passed the note to Castle and accepted the mug of coffee from Marnie. "It could just be someone messing with your head."

"And how many people know about my mother _and_ the fact that the woman who was murdered was my friend? You haven't even released her identity yet. How would someone who isn't involved possibly _know_ about this?"

Beckett let out a stressed sigh and looked to Castle, whom had finished reading the note and was now staring at the pale wall in concentration. Marnie was getting angrier by the minute. This case wasn't a complicated web of lies like so many others they had encountered before. This was a simple act of revenge. All it would take would be to narrow it down to the people who had lost family or friends to her mother's rampage. But no, Beckett and Castle were over thinking it.

"Listen, we'll take this back to the precinct and figure it out from there. Don't think about it for the moment."

_Don't think about it?_ Marnie seethed in her thoughts. She balled her fists until her knuckles were white.

"Let me see it one more time."

Before Castle could protest, Marnie had ripped the page from his hands and had collapsed into the arm chair with it.

_It hurts to lose a friend, does it not?  
>Your mother obviously didn't think about that. The suffering you're feeling is but the start of everything. Don't think for a moment that this is the end, Detective Saunders. You'll know the pain your flesh and blood caused so many.<br>__**-Hurt**_

She felt the urge to crumple the paper up and toss it out the window. Hurt is how it had been signed. _Hurt? _Whoever this was, who thought revenge was such a great idea, was incredibly wrong. _They think _they're_ hurt?_ Marnie lost the trust of her friends, her home, the _respect_ and more importantly her mother and best friend because of her mother's actions. And these people thought that it was _her_ fault? She had already paid the price for her mother's actions. She moved away, changed her precinct and cut off almost _all_ of her friendships because she couldn't face these people after what had happened.  
>And now they wanted to cause her more suffering. Typical.<br>But then a thought occurred to her.

"You don't understand,"

Beckett looked somewhat offended at Marnie's remark and Castle looked startled at the young woman after a few moments of silence.

"Marnie, of course I understand-"

"No, seriously. You don't. I only told Ryan about my mother."

It then dawned on Castle that something was obviously amiss.

"Marnie, what did your mother do?"

And so, she pushed back her hair and unleashed her story upon the two, not making any eye contact whatsoever with either.

"This makes sense," Beckett said finally, after Marnie's re-telling of the events. "Revenge is obviously the motive here. I seriously do understand your frustration now, Saunders. There's nothing complicated about this. We'll fine whoever is responsible as soon as possible. But we'll need your help."

Marnie nodded slowly, tucking her legs underneath her on the chair as Beckett and Castle stood up to leave.

"I'll have someone stationed near your apartment at all times until this is all cleared up. We don't know what this person will do next."

And with that, they both left leaving Marnie on her own in her apartment._ I need a night out,_ she thought morbidly as she dragged herself out of the chair. _I need to forget all of this for a few hours._

* * *

><p>"So let me get this straight. You want me to bring you out so you can get drunk?"<p>

"Umhum!"

"Are you sure this is a good idea? I've got work in the morning."

"Lanie! Please? I need this right now and you're the only one I'd even think to ask."

Marnie could almost hear the other woman roll her eyes from the other end of the phone.

"Fine, but you better be lookin' fabulous by the time I get to your place. I'm not bringing some hermit out."

Marnie cracked a smile as she hung up her phone and threw it onto the bed. She _needed_ a night out. And she'd heard Lanie was one for giving a good one. She didn't mourn well; she mostly got over deaths quickly and covered up the hurt with her excitable personality. A night out was her first step in that direction.

Opening up her wardrobe, she gathered the dress candidates and laid them on the bed next to her phone. She wanted something fun, colourful and happy. Nothing too dull and boring. She soon decided on a short mid-thigh length violet off shoulder dress that had a black sash that wrapped around the waist. She slipped on her black ankle boots before grabbing her phone and shoving it into her purse. She couldn't have been bothered by doing anything exciting with her hair and so left it dangling from her shoulders.

"Well don't you look lovely," Lanie commented with a sly grin as Marnie locked her apartment door. "Hoping to catch some fellas tonight?"

Marnie turned and gave Lanie a disapproving look before making her way down the hallway with her.

* * *

><p>"You know you didn't answer me back at your apartment about catching the eye of some poor guy tonight, Marnie" Lanie remarked loudly over the pumping music of the club.<p>

Marnie wasn't one for sitting around, nursing a drink. Instead, she got on the dance floor and dragged anyone who was with her to their doom. At that moment, herself and Lanie, both of whom had consumed a fair amount of drink, were swaying and laughing to the music that was blaring out from the DJ.

"There's no one who interests me here," Marnie replied, gliding her way through the crowd to the table where their drink had been left.

"Well of course not _here_," Lanie said, joining Marnie at the table. "I'm sure Ryan's busy at the precinct at the moment."

Marnie almost choked on her drink, instead squirting it out her nose in the most unattractive manner.

"_Ryan?_ What gave you _that_ idea?"

Lanie smirked at the embarrassment she had accomplished with Marnie and took a sip of her drink.

"Well you seem pretty cool with him staying at your place. And you look like you've gotten pretty close to him in the last few months. I bet you were nice and cosy with him on your couch."

Marnie opened her mouth, horrified at the things Lanie was coming out and saying.

"Lanie! He's just been dumped from being engaged! How could you even think like that? How could you even think I'd- I'd-"

"You'd what?"

Marnie went bright red and was thankful for the flashing lights of the club. She would never live this conversation down.

"Girl, I don't know what you're trying to tell yourself. You and Kevin have both had tough time recently and you get along like a house on fire. Why not give it a try?"

Marnie had told Lanie about her mother and the status of the case. She had also, _stupidly_ told her about how comforting Ryan had been about everything. _Why _had she said anything?

"Lanie, I just- just can't. I mean, a relationship in the work place? And besides, I like our friendship, I don't want to ruin it. And he's probably still hurting about Jenny. He's _obviously_ still hurting about Jenny. She dumped him when they were getting married, Lanie! I can't after that!"

The M.E shook her head with a knowing smile on her face and smoothed out her blue dress.

"Well, whatever you say, Marnie. And could I clear up the relationship in the work place thing by telling you something you can't tell Beckett or Castle?"

Marnie raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"I'm in a relationship with Javi. And we're fine!"

Marnie's mouth formed an 'o' shape as she wrapped her arms around Lanie and laughed.

"Oh, wow! I had no idea! No wonder you've been so happy!"

When Marnie released her, Lanie gave her a smug smile and opened up Marnie's purse that was sitting on the table and yanked out the detective's phone. Marnie watched her friend scroll through the contacts until it stopped at Ryan's and then had her phone shoved into her hand.

"Don't wait, Marnie. Text him, call him, invite him over for all I care! But if I don't see you making a move in the next month I'll take action myself!"

Marnie blushed as she shook her head and put her phone back into her purse.

"I'll think about it."

And she did think about it. The whole ride home. It only occurred to her as she unlocked her door that Ryan was probably still at the precinct and probably still needed a place to stay for the night. Hands shaking, she took her phone out and clicked his contact, creating a new text message. Had Lanie not mentioned any of this before, Marnie wouldn't have thought twice about texting him. All of a sudden everything meant something different when she thought about it.

_**If u still need a place to crash my sofa's free :)  
>Marnie.<strong>_

Would she leave x's like she left all of her friends? Like she always had with Ryan? Now it seemed suggestive. Why had she never thought about it like this before? _Damn you Lanie, _she thought as she sent the text, leaving the x's and crawling into bed.  
>Her phone beeped.<p>

_**Just leaving precinct nw. I've got my own place back nw, so it's okay. Wat are u doing up 2am?  
>Kevin xxx<strong>_

Her sleepy eyes widened as she read the text. He left x's. _He always leaves x's, Marnie_, she scolded herself. That's what most friends do. She felt silly now, having not left them.

_**Had a night out with Lanie, needed a drink. I hope this case doesn't keep u up 'til 2am every night. I'll txt u 2morrow, night  
>Marnie xxx<strong>_

With a deep breath, she hit send and turned out her lamp, dropping her phone onto her locker and sinking down into bed. Just as sleep took over her, her phone lit up again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the message that popped up and smiled as she fell asleep.

_**Sweet dreams, detective :)  
>Kevin xxx<strong>_

_A/N: Soooo super sorry for the wait. I've been very sick all summer. Also sorry for lack of detail, it's late at night. But do please review! :D  
>p.s, also sorry to anyone who got an alert from this last night. I realized I had missed loads of details I had written in, in previous chapters. It's that obvious how long it's been since I've touched this. So some of the earlier chapters have a few tweaks..<em>


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey Ryan,"

Ryan looked up from his papers to see Lanie smirking at him, her hands resting on her hips. Somehow Lanie always looked bright and perky, even after a night out and an early start.

"...Yes?" he replied cautiously.

Very suspicious, he thought as he placed his pen down and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms to give Lanie his full attention.

"So," she said slyly, crouching down to the level of his desk and folding her arms on its surface, placing her chin on them. "How's Marnie?"

Ryan was somewhat surprised at Lanie's question and was quite frankly relieved. The way she had asked lead him to believe it was going to be something to tease him with.  
>He quickly rolled his eyes and leaned forward again to pick up his pen and resume his work.<p>

"She didn't seem too out of it when I was talking to her last night," he replied, not even looking up to the M.E as he spoke. "You didn't get her too drunk did you?"

"Awh, Ryan! Would I really?"

He did look up at that point, with an eyebrow raised.

"So she didn't say anything... Out of the normal?"

"No Lanie. I don't even know what you're on about."

The woman sighed with irritation and stood back up straight, leaving the detective to his work.

"That girl's in trouble." she mumbled to herself as she began her journey back to the morgue.

* * *

><p>Somehow she had avoided the team stationed outside her apartment and Marnie found herself in a pub. And it was an Irish pub of course, called McAvoy's. It was only 2pm.<br>She was seated at the counter, her right hand wrapped around a pint of Guinness and her left was at her forehead. She groaned as she heard someone coming up behind her and touching the small of her back.

"Yea a'right there, love?"

She, at that moment, felt like smashing her head off the counter. The man who had spoken had an Irish accent and it was very noticeably from Dublin. She prayed to whatever god there was out there that he wasn't a scumbag Dubliner.  
>She lifted her head off her hand and rested it on the counter before turning to glance over her shoulder at the man. He was certainly not what was expecting.<br>She had expected a guy with blond highlights, Adidas tracksuit top and bottoms; your typical dodgy Dubliner. Wow was she wrong.  
>Behind her stood a fair haired man, dressed in a white t-shirt and black jeans, with a black coat hanging from his shoulders. A silver chain was noticeable beneath his shirt but whatever was dangling from it remained hidden. <em>Damn<em>, Marnie thought as she held her stare a little too long. This man was attractive to say the least.

"Uh, eh, ye-eah?"

She mentally slapped herself.

"You sure? 'Cause in my experience, lovely young ladies like yerself don't usually hang about pubs like McAvoy's at this hour of the day. Eh?"

She sighed and nodded in defeat, motioning for him to sit beside her at the counter. He did sit down, and then turned so that he was facing her, leaning on his right elbow.

"Suppose you're right," she mumbled, throwing back the rest of her drink. She signaled the barman over to get her another drink but his attention was elsewhere.

"Hey Duff!" the man beside her yelled at the barman, who's gaze was then focused at the pair. "Get your good for nothin' ass over here and serve this nice lady!"

The barman rolled his eyes and put down the glass he was drying at the back of the bar. Marnie's mysterious man smirked at her knowingly.

"Another Guinness for the lady, Duff," he said, motioning towards Marnie with his head. "And the usual for me, sure."

The barman sighed and threw a glance at the Irishman before going to grab two glasses.

"Duffy's a kind soul, just needs a bit of coaxing to serve yea. The name's Cameron, nice to meet yea,"

He stretched out a hand with a warm smile, looking right into Marnie's eyes with his own brown. She took his hand and shook it gently before releasing it as Duffy came back with their drinks.

"My name's Marnie," she said quietly, taking a quick glance at what drink he had. A Bulmer's. One of her favorites.

"Well Marnie, how can I help yea on this seemingly dark, dreary, miserable day?"

A smile broke out on Marnie's face as she glanced out the window to see that just as it had been when she entered the pub, the sun was still beating down on the city. It was far from a miserable day.

"Just a thing at work. Personal things have gotten in the way."

Cameron raised an eyebrow as he took a swig from his bottle and began rummaging in his coat pockets.

"Sure I doubt it could be that bad. I mean, stuff can fuck work life up a bit but once yea go home you can forget 'bout it. Can't yea?"

She hesitated before replying, asking herself why she was even talking about this to a stranger. _'Cause he's hot,_ she thought before mentally scolding herself.

"I'm a homicide detective with the LAPD. When something personal happens in that line of work it generally can't be left in the office."

He looked slightly taken back at the news of her career as he pulled out a packet of cigarettes. He offered her one before he went to reply. She accepted it.

"Well," he began, lighting his cigarette and taking a drag before continuing. "I certainly didn't see you as a copper type. But yea know, appearances can be deceivin'. And I'm assuming yea probably can't talk about the case or whatever that's affecting you with a complete stranger, but I'll say somethin'. Things do happen for a reason. That ol' loony up there has a purpose for all of us and maybe whatever happened with you will lead onto somethin' else greater. Yea just never know."

Without thinking, Marnie moved over and wrapped her arms around Cameron, nearly dropping her cigarette in the process. It was impulsive and stupid. But she needed it.

"You've gotta be the nicest stranger I've ever met, Cameron. Really. You didn't need to come over here and buy me a drink, so thanks."

When she moved away from him, a cheeky grin was stretched across his face as he took another drag.

"Always here to help a fellow afternoon drinker."

Marnie smiled as she blew out smoke from her cigarette and took another drink from her pint.

"So what do you do Cameron? Guidance councilor? High school religion teacher?"

"Jeez, leave it as Cam. And yes, aren't I just the image of an angelic religion teacher? No, I run my own record shop, believe it or not. Should call around one day, I'm just around the corner."

"Riordan's Records?"

"Yep, that'd be it. Call in and I can fix you up with whatever yea want!"

She smiled. "I'll take you up on that."

"Here," he said, pulling a piece of paper from behind the bar onto the counter, followed by a pen. Duffy glanced over and glared at Cam. If looks could burn.

"In case yea get lost and need directions,"

He handed her the paper with his number scrawled across it and stood up from the wooden stool, dropping some change onto the counter.

"I gotta go. You call around and don't forget to face whatever problems yea got goin' on in that precinct of yours. Can't have a sad face downing the atmosphere of my shop,"

And with that, he winked at her and left through the swinging door, leaving it slightly ajar. Marnie could hear him whistling from her seat inside the pub.  
>Damn, she thought again. What a contrast to Ryan.<p>

* * *

><p>Marnie hadn't actually thought of Ryan until Cam had left. Although she had tried to block him from her mind momentarily, he still managed to spring back in. She then began to ponder on what was currently happening at the precinct. Had Lanie said something to Ryan? Had Ryan said something to Lanie? Had there been any more leads in the case? Had Caskett finally happened?<br>Of course many of these questions were simply ridiculous and she didn't spend too long thinking about them. Except the one about Ryan and Lanie. _Maybe I should text him, check up on the case as an excuse to talk to him_, she thought in the taxi on the way home from McAvoy's.  
>She quickly pulled out her phone and opened up a new message to send to Ryan.<p>

_**Any nws on the case? :)  
>Marnie xxx <strong>_

She felt stupidly giddy as she sent the text. She gazed out the window of the car while she waited for a reply. It was almost nerve wrecking.

_**Not yet. Drink 2nite? Beck's letting me hav the nite off 4 some reason. Tink her & Lanie r plotting somethin. Shud I b scared?  
>Kevin xxx<strong>_

Marnie's heart nearly stopped with fear. She would kill them. Lanie, that treacherous fiend!

_**B vry scared. I wud. I'm up 4 a drink r 2? Where u wanna go?  
>Marnie xxx<strong>_

Maybe he was in on it, she thought to herself. What if this was all a huge joke on her and Ryan was in on it. All to humiliate her? Who was she kidding, they'd never do anything like that. She was being stupid again.

_**I was thinkin just chillin my place 4 a bit. Dnt really wanna go out but kinda lonely :( pizza?  
>Kevin xxx<strong>_

Marnie dreaded to think what her taxi driver was thinking about her as she almost had a mental breakdown in the back of his car. Why did Lanie have to say anything? God damnit!

_**Yea, sure. Kinda the same here. I'll bring mean girls :P  
>Marnie xxx<strong>_

An almost instant reply made Marnie giggle. Giggle? What was she? A teenaged school girl?

_**-_-  
>Kevin xxx<strong>_

She arrived at her apartment and hurried up the dozens of steps. The moment she locked the door behind her, she collapsed on her bed and groaned loudly.  
>What in the name of god would she wear tonight?<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **__**Don't feel obliged to read this note if you don't want to, I'm just explaining a little something**__**.**_

_**So… I felt this chapter was really…. I dunno. Different. And I've a feeling it's 'cos of the addition of Cam. So I'm gonna explain what's up with him. In my original story brainstorm, he did not exist. HOWEVER, recently I watched the Boondock Saints (I went on a Norman Reedus film watching marathon 'cos I love him in The Walking Dead and am obsessed) and well.. The Boondock Saints is about Irish twin brothers. It's a hilarious film and is well worth the watch (one of my ultimate favourites now). Anyway, I felt this story needed a bit of shit stirred, (besides the whole murder case of course) so I felt I needed a new guy. And well… I love the boys in BS. So… Cam is kinda based on Connor. I'm pretty sure BS fans will see what I'm doing here. Yep. **_

_**Review please! :D**_


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